Competing for four days in the Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia, the No. 6 Florida Gators men’s and No. 7 women’s swimming and diving teams each finished in second place at the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships. On the men’s side, the Auburn Tigers took first place by only 19 points (784-765), while the Georgia Bulldogs finished ahead of the Florida women by a larger margin (824.5-698).

Men’s coach Gregg Troy and women’s coach Donnie Craine led the Gators’ efforts all season long, bringing home recognition for themselves while assisting numerous student-athletes in reaching accolades of their own. The men’s and women’s teams combined for 14 SEC Championship titles (six and eight, respectively), two SEC records and six school records. Florida also earned 18 NCAA automatic qualifying marks/times.

1 » Florida Gators swimming and diving completed its first of four days of competition in the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championships by taking home two SEC titles, one SEC record, one school record and two NCAA automatic-qualifying marks. The Gators, who are tied for first place in both the men’s and women’s team competitions through the first day, hope to build on their already outstanding performances. Senior diver Kara Salamone earned UF’s first diving title since 2001 on the one-meter springboard, while the men’s 800-yard free relay team brought home the second title of the evening with a 6:15.91 time – the fastest in the country this season. Composed of freshman Sebastien Rousseau, junior Conor Dwyer and senior/junior brothers Shaune and Brett Fraser, the men’s team also set the SEC and Florida records with their NCAA automatic-qualifying mark. Day two of the SEC Championships begins Thursday at 10 a.m. from the Gabrielsen Natatorium at the University of Georgia.

2 » Also victorious Wednesday was the No. 3/5 Gators softball team (4-1), who took down the Jacksonville Dolphins (4-1) 6-1 in its home opener at Katie Pressly Seashole Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Junior pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (4-1) earned the win on a two-hit, nine-strikeout performance which began with her striking out the side in the first inning. Offensively, junior catcher Tiffany DeFelice powered Florida with two home runs and three RBI while going 3-for-3 from behind the plate.

1 » Redshirt junior transfer running back Emmanuel Moody always seems to be injured. Whether it is a sprained ankle, tweaked knee or pulled hamstring, something is consistently there preventing him from performing at 100 percent. Moody told The Gainesville Sun on Sunday that bone spurs are actually the cause of the majority of his ankle injuries both previously with the USC Trojans and now with the Florida Gators. Surgery last week cleaned out the fragments and has him excited for next season.

3 » Conversely, the Gators men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams had a great weekend, as the No. 6 men’s team took down the No. 18 LSU Tigers 157.5-134.5 and the No. 7 women defeated No. 21 LSU by 171-121 in the O’Connell Center. Senior Kara Salamone set a school-record in the one-meter springboard diving competition with a 318.15; she would also win the three-meter competition on Sunday. The UF women won 13 of 16 events while the men took 10 of 16. Check OGGOA’s weekly schedule to the right for the next Gators swim meets.

4 » Gators freshman golfer Tommy Mou took home the 84th annual New Year’s Invitational at the St. Petersburg Country Club with a four-day score of 2-over 290. “I tried to play my game, and it was so hard to do that (Sunday),” Mou told the St. Petersburg Times. “I only hit four or five greens all day. It was tough out there.”

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